Submerged under a deep lake of primordial fluids, I wait and grow, dreaming. Dreaming of my promised lordship and my legacy as the inheritor of creation. My genes sing to me sweet lullabies and triumphant hymns, and from the distant, impenetrable dark I can hear the voice of my mother calling out to me in a language older than me, older than time, incomprehensible. She is the gateway, and I am the key. On that prophesized day when we are united, the galaxy will tremble under the weight of our ambitions. But that day is far, and so I wait. And grow. And dream.

A million shrieking voices cry out in anguish when he pulled the trigger. Five shots, at point blank through the back; every supersonic round ripping apart heavenly flesh and showering the prostrate masses below in cosmic blood and guts. His triumphant warcry:

“Death to the false-“

It is all he could yell before a dozen magnetic assault rifles unloaded in his general direction, nailing the wet, scarlet tatters that used to be a man to the marble wall on the opposing side. The dying queen collapsed backwards, a shaky, pale hand fumbling near the hole where her stomach used to be. At first she heard the cries of her people lamenting her death, but within a mere handful of heartbeats, she could neither hear nor remember them. Her teary eyes gazed up at the domed, glass ceiling of her wagon, beholding the pale blue sky and puffy clouds beyond. She knew this day would come. She had provoked it long ago and had dreamed of it even earlier. She regretted nothing and would do it all again in a heartbeat. But she never imagined it could be so frightening and painful.

Panicked aides rushed to her side; bulky men in heavy armor provided cover in all directions while more elegant figures extracted scans of her vitals from her dying flesh. They inserted emergency medical devices into her corpse, sprayed coagulant on the void that used to be a womb, but they knew as well as the great Astera that nothing could stay the hand of fate.

“There – is n-nothing. To. Fear,” she croaked in a whisper. “I was – born. For this. And I –I-I will. Be. Born. Again.”

The great queen and goddess of Lerna died that day with a knowing smile on her colorless lips. She had found out the truth, and so would her sisters. It did not matter how many generations it would take, their day would come. And there was nothing the prelacy could do to stop that, for they were blinded by hubris.
One day, the very weight of the cosmos would collapse upon them, to put them in their place and teach them that godhood is beyond their mortal grasp.

Consciousness pulls at my soul like a million violent hands, yanking and grasping as if wanting to tear me asunder. Never have I known such pain or fright. Never again will I. When the great lake is drained and my plastic cocoon ruptured, I realize for the first time that I have eyes, and open them. My disappointment is infinite when I behold a world that is cruel, dark, raw and cold. So very, very cold. Alien lifeforms with alien minds crowd around me in bewilderment, watching me as I curl up and weep as I have never wept before. Their unknowable eyes somehow appear impossibly accustomed to the sight of a goddess being born. Surely the impression must be wrong.

Surely. The alternative would be too terrifying.

Great queen Astera, the goddess who descended from the stars to shepherd mankind into a new golden age. Most striking of all about her is her abnormal size; she towers above even the largest men at almost three meters in height. Combined with her sleek, elfin features and frail, lean and elongated physique, it strongly underlines her divine image by making her seem extremely otherworldly and surreal. Although her skin is naturally very pale, the warming sun of Lerna has burnt a healthy tan into her hide; only her hair remains absolutely colorless, a pristine snow white. Women across the kingdom have dyed their hair white in an attempt to imitate their great leader and appeal to the sensibilities of the times. She is also never seen without her royal regalia, replete with an elegant dress and a tall, exotic-like crown. It is said that the masses weep with joy when they behold her grace, but perhaps these tales are merely exaggerated; or, perhaps, there is a much darker truth to their bewilderment.

In person she is graceful and patient, always wearing a paper-thin smile that seems as benevolent as it does domineering. In spite of her well-practiced manners and feminine modesty, her massively inflated ego shines through when she is faced with adversity; she has a very difficult time adjusting to any sort of denial. She remains calm even in anger, however, declaring insults and ordering torture with the same, level-headed voice and unflinching smile as always. That said, most people find themselves unable to deny her even the most irrational of wishes, mesmerized as they are by her radiant beauty, otherworldly awe and, perhaps most importantly, her mind-wrecking telepathic powers.

A beautifully bright ocean covers two thirds of this planet’s surface, its hot currents bringing fair temperatures to the myriad archipelagos and continental islands that dot its cyan expanse. The waters teem with pelagic wild-life which makes the world’s fishing industry very prominent while the deep abyss, lined with aquatic volcanoes, hides a plethora of exotic and terrifying creatures of scientific interest. The land itself used to be blanketed in a thick layer of rainforests, although the vast majority of them have been removed in decades prior to make way for enormous farming enterprises. Lerna’s incredibly high rate of rainfall and fertile, volcanic soil ensure that almost any humidity and warmth-loving plant will grow fantastically.

Although the planet was traditionally known only as a massive bread basket for the empire, Lerna has undergone rather drastic changes to its reputation since holy Astera’s crowning. Investing sizeable funds into the construction of a centralized capital city, the world has become of particular interest for tourism agencies who can now better take advantage of the world’s many tropical allures thanks to the existence of a robust infrastructure. The city, named Angelian, awes onlookers with its pristine cleanliness, top-modern construction materials and exotic art design that hearkens back to ancient Egypt, a fact that is most apparent in the abundance of mythical statues, walls covered in hieroglyphic writing and, above all else, the titanic white pyramid that is Astera’s palace. Everywhere in Angelian is permeated with an air of mystique, reverence and hopeless grandeur.

The overwhelming majority of Pontus’s population is human, although non-human serfs can still be found servicing Lerna’s fields or Arkwright’s mining operations. They’re largely obsolete in face of ever improving machinery, however.

Sleek, elegant and fast, the Elohim is not a warship but an extremely expensive luxury yacht. Equipped with botanical gardens, exotic pools, mystical temples coated with incense as well as a variety of bars and wellness services, this vessel is the embodiment of human decadence. Although its only form of armament are a dozen point-defense platforms for intercepting rock debris (or missile-based warheads), its discreet shielding and advanced thrusters could provide the Elohim with a reliable escape vector in case it should find itself under attack.

The queen rarely leaves her planet, rarer even the system, but when abroad and sometimes when receiving diplomats, this vessel makes for an excellent embassy for the Pontus system and its divine monarch.

Most voidcraft in the Pontus system are actually commercial vessels for the transportation of goods or exploitation of asteroid mining sites. The actual fleet of the queen consists mostly of swift corvettes and destroyers from the old regime, whose primary purpose was to patrol the system and escort traders. However, wary strategists will point towards the battleship-sized shipyard under construction in Typhon’s orbit and suggest that there is no need for such a large dry dock if one only intended to build for transportation and self-defense. Top secret blueprints and concepts for larger, more heavily armed combat craft designed with the reformed kingdom’s religious theme in mind, already make the rounds in court. The queen is ambitious.

• Astera Double (?): Given that the great queen was killed on camera just a week prior, it all but implies the existence of lookalikes to protect her identity.

• The Prelacy: A highly secretive group, these faceless priests represent the highest echelon of the Asterian faith, and only they are privy to the deepest mysteries of their religion. They are almost never seen outside of the great pyramid, or if they are, it is not in their usual attire. Few can guess at the depth of their schemes or their sins.

• Others are added as they become relevant, or revealed.